Derrick Brown: Season Report Card

Strengths: Brown is an athletic wing who uses his quickness and agility to score efficiently, leading the Bobcats with a True Shooting Percentage of 55.6%. He is also a strong offensive rebounder for a wing, which allows him to create easy scoring opportunities for himself. In addition to scoring off put backs, the majority of his buckets come on the break or slashing to the basket. His effort is consistent – something to note on a team that won only 7 games.

Weaknesses: Brown is a tweener. He doesn’t quite have the size to match up with most PF’s, while he’s not a quick enough defender on the perimeter to guard SF’s. He is also lacking a post or mid-range game, as well as the ability to create his own shot.

Reasons for Optimism: Brown proved himself to be a useful role player this season. Although he was logging starter’s minutes in a lot of games, and thus looked overmatched by his competition at times, he displayed a handful of skills that make him a valuable rotation player. There are plenty of guys in the NBA who make their living off of energy and athleticism, which at this point are clearly his two attributes you can bank on. However, if Brown can develop a more efficient mid-range game he will afford himself even more opportunities to get on the floor.

Reasons for Pessimism: Despite whether or not he improves on the offensive end, Brown will more than likely remain a guy on defense who is stuck in between positions. Thus, matchups will dictate how much run he gets in a particular game.

Forecast: Brown signed a one-year minimum contract before last season so the team will need to get him signed to a new deal. Assuming they do, in a perfect world (a perfect world being the Bobcats are healthy next season and are solid enough to win 20+ games) Brown comes off the bench to give the second unit energy and help on the offensive glass. Fifteen minutes a game is probably optimal for a guy like Brown whose value is attributed primarily to energy and hustle. His minutes need to be limited to an extent so that he can fully exert himself while on the floor. Next season will be telling for Brown. If he’s able to improve his jump shot while also maintaining the same level of effort on the glass he’ll ensure himself a longer career in the League than most had previously believed.